


Raven's Roost

by thilesluna



Series: Dad Magnus and his Good Good Son [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Growing Up, Magnus is a good dad, Post-Canon, ango is a badass, descriptions of violence, they kick a certain someone's ass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 12:39:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11463783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thilesluna/pseuds/thilesluna
Summary: On their adventure, Magnus and Angus end up at Raven's Roost and meet an unexpected person from Magnus's past. Magnus worries he's not good enough for Angus and Angus wishes he could call Magnus dad.





	Raven's Roost

A few months after his 16th birthday, Magnus brings Angus to the ruins of Raven’s Roost. They don't really make a plan to go there but one day they come to a branch in the road that makes Magnus pause. He's changed a lot in the last few years, but there are still only a handful of things that will make Magnus Burnsides pause.

 

The sign that points left is battered and old. There hasn't been anyone to care for and repair it since the fall of the craftsman column and the abandonment of the city but Angus can tell that it used to be a very beautiful thing. He wonders if Magnus was the one who made it. Magnus clears his throat and adjusts his grip on the reigns, his eyes never leaving the worn sign. Angus rests a hand on the man's arm and Magnus actually jumps like the touch was electrified.

 

"Sorry, Ango," he says, trying to brush it off with a laugh. He offers an apologetic smile and Angus returns it with his own crooked one.

 

They sit for another minute, Magnus staring down the road to where his life began and ended in such a short time. Angus can read the indecision written on his face and wishes for the first time in years, for the little ice cream shop in Rockport and their bench in the nearby park. "Magnus?" he asks. "Can we—I mean feel free to say no, but could we go? To Raven's Roost? I know it's been a long time but I'd like to, I don't know, see it? I guess? I get it if you don’t—“

 

Magnus huffs out a laugh and pats Angus gentle on the shoulder. "We can go look, Angus. I can handle it," he says. "And if I can't, we can turn tail and go." He says it almost like a question and Angus nods emphatically.

 

"Yeah—yes, definitely," he confirms.

 

"Doubt there will be anything there interesting after all this time anyway," Magnus jokes, but it falls a little flat. He tugs a little on the reigns to change their direction and then spurs the oxen into action.

 

\----

 

It's been a long time since Magnus traveled this road. The last time he was going in toward his town, he was sprinting, running for the still lingering fires and the smoke curling into a bright blue sky. He wonders idly if the ruins of his chair, the champion chair that he flung from his back the moment he got the story from someone fleeing the city, are still in the woods surrounding the road.

 

He knows for sure that if Angus wasn't with him he wouldn't be doing this—wouldn't be _able_ to do it. Magnus knows enough about himself now to know for sure that he wouldn't be strong enough to do this alone. He steals a glance at Angus and catches him looking back. The boy averts his eyes quickly and blushes.

 

Despite the way his belly feels tight and his chest constricting over the fear and anticipation of what they're doing, Magnus smiles. Angus is so _good_ , constantly checking on him and making sure he's okay, like it isn't that Magnus is the one who’s supposed to be the adult. He'd like to think that maybe he had something to do with it, with the goodness that Angus radiates, but the truth is that he’s always been that way. Magnus wishes he could take credit for any of it but can't. He's not really Angus's dad even if he wants so badly to be.

 

He distracts himself with thinking of that for a few minutes before his mind goes totally blank as the remaining columns of Raven's Roost come into view. He must still or Angus hears the way his breath catches in his throat because there's a hand on his arm and long fingers giving him an encouraging squeeze.

 

It looks almost like it did when he left for the last time and if he closes his eyes, he can see it the way it was before the bombing. He can hear the sounds of his town, the merchants selling wares, the shops all working to make goods, the music, the _people_. Magnus opens his eyes and the memory fades.

 

Now Raven's Roost is a deserted city. There's no noise and little movement. Plants have begun to take over the collapsed column and the buildings still standing in the other corridors of the city have fallen into disrepair. Magnus tightens his hands on the reigns, knuckles going white.

 

"Magnus?" The hand is back on his arm and he turns to look at Angus. "We can leave Magnus. I'm sorry—“

 

"I'm okay, buddy," Magnus says, voice a little tight. "It's just—a lot all at once, you know?"

 

"Yeah," Angus says softly. They pull the cart up to a safe distance from the fallen column and tie up the oxen. Neither of them says much as they power through what's become an old routine at this point. Angus wanders a little bit, looking around while Magnus gets the oxen some hay and water from the back of the wagon.

 

 _So far so good_ , Magnus thinks. _So far I haven't broken down._

 

\-------

 

This was a mistake and Angus knows it. He’s hurting Magnus by asking to come to this place. Magnus will never admit it but Angus can see it in the hunch of his shoulders and the furrow of his brow, the way he pulls in on himself like he can protect the soft parts even though his hurts aren't ones that can be hidden from. They’re these little physical things that Magnus probably doesn't even know he's doing but Angus knows _him_ and knows that he's not okay.

 

He doesn't know what he was thinking. Bringing Magnus here wasn't going to magically cure the nights when the man wakes up with a pained sound and whispering Julia's name. Seeing Raven's Roost wasn't going to make him remember Governor Kaylen—a name Angus only knows through Merle and Taako, a name of aman to be killed by their hands if ever they should meet him—and it wasn't going to undo the sadness that Magnus has been living with for the last ten years.

 

If he's being honest, he knows that he's being selfish. Angus, the boy who wants the answers and to understand as much of the world as he can. Angus, the boy who can't leave a mystery unsolved even if it hurts someone he loves.

 

Angus kicks at a rock, angry at himself for making Magnus hurt. It goes tumbling down the path and into a ravine. He wishes he could throw himself into the ravine instead. He takes a deep breath and calms himself as best he can. With that, he decides to go back to the camp and talk to Magnus. He can't keep them here on good conscious and maybe if he makes it seem like he's the one who can't handle being here, Magnus won't put up a fight.

 

He's wandered far from the wagon now, so far in fact that he can't even see it anymore. Angus starts the slow trek back, still admonishing himself.

 

When the wagon comes into view, there are two men standing over Magnus where he sits by a small fire. Their body language alone would tell Angus that they're not friendly but the fact that they've drawn weapons confirms it. Angus drops low and sidesteps off the path into the woods to circle around.

 

\-----

 

Magnus hears the men approaching before he sees them. Even at his age, his perception of his surroundings is pretty damn good and he knows that Angus had wandered off in the opposite direction earlier. He doesn't draw it out, but he checks to see that Rail-splitter is within reach. He throws a few more sticks on the fire.

 

"Hail and well met, strangers!" he calls when he deems them close enough.

 

One of the men chuckles. "Always did see me coming, Burnsides," he says.

 

Magnus doesn't look up from the fire despite the fact that this man seems to know who he is. He shrugs and says, "Like to be aware is all."

 

He can tell that the other man is shifting uncomfortably slightly behind the first. Magnus glances around to make sure that Angus is still out of sight. He thinks about adding some dry leaves to the fire to build up the smoke but decides against it. The first man speaks again. "I'm surprised to see you here."

 

"Why's that?" Magnus says, finally looking up. The man is of average height with greasy, slicked back hair thats greying at the temples. He's got pale skin that looks flushed in the dying light of day and piercing green eyes. There's a long scar running from his right temple down to his chin and despite the familiarity in his tone and the fact that he seems to know Magnus's name, he has never seen this man before in his life.

 

"Didn't think you'd return to the scene of the crime, so to speak," the man says. The other man—who looks what Magnus imagines a rat would look like as a person—behind him adjusts his grip on his sword nervously.

 

Magnus falters, facade slipping. "What do you know about this place?" he asks. Both men now have swords drawn on him and he looks quickly for Angus, relieved that there's still no sign. His focus shifts back to the greasy man. "How do you know who I am?"

 

"I'm hurt, Burnsides," the man says with a sneer. "You don't remember me? Even after giving me this?" He runs his finger down the length of the long scar.

 

"Listen, pal, I've fought a lot of people in my life," Magnus says, shrugging. "You're going to have to be a helluva lot more specific."

 

The man frowns and raises his sword to point it at Magnus. "You—you really don't remember me?" he asks, a little incredulous.

 

"Nope," Magnus says, popping the 'p' and offering the man a crooked grin. He can see that the man is getting more and more frustrated and maybe Magnus has learned a little bit too much from Taako over the years but boy, does he love riling up assholes.

 

The man takes a step forward, his sword getting closer to Magnus's face. Magnus doesn't flinch and the man seems to stop and collect himself. He rolls his shoulders and the smirk settles back onto his face. "I find that hard to believe," he says. "Perhaps the boy you're traveling with may be able to help you?" Magnus tightens his jaw at the mention of Angus. "He seems too old to be your son, though. That is, if my math is correct. Did you pick up a stray, Burnsides? You were always so good at that," the man sneers.

 

"I don't know who you're talking about," Magnus says through clenched teeth.

 

"Don't play dumb when you're so proficient in it already," the man remarks. The rat looking man takes a step to the side to encircle Magnus. "We saw you pull in with the boy and then he wandered off."

 

Magnus's fingers itch to get a hold of Rail-Splitter and stop the man from talking but he sits still. "You seem to know a lot about me," he says carefully. "I don't even know your name, and I've heard that not introducing yourself is rude in most parts."

 

The man narrows his eyes and clenches his jaw. "Still playing this game, then?" Magnus raises his eyesbrows in answer, his face passive. The man looks as though he may strike but schools his anger once again. "I'll tell you what, Burnsides," he says. "I'll make a deal with you. If you tell me my name right now, I won't have my men hunt down your boy after we're done killing you. How's that sound?"

 

Magnus picks up a long stick and uses it to adjust the fire, buying himself some time. He doesn't know this man. He doesn't know his name and he's sure as shit not going to let anything happen to Angus but he literally _can't_ answer this question. "Well you see there's a problem," he says finally, prodding at the coals. "How do I know you won't hurt my boy after you've killed me?” Magnus raises his eyes to stare down the man, challenging. “Even if I get your name right, there's no guarantee that you won't still kill him."

 

"Worried about having another life on your conscious?" the man asks, a vicious sort of tone in his voice.

 

Magnus grips the stick tightly and breathes. There's no way this guy could know how true that is. He can't know about the relics and the missing century and everything that Magnus has done that leaves him sleepless, so he must be talking about this place, about Raven's Roost. Magnus searches the man’s face again. There must be _something_ he’s missing. There must be something that would explain the tingling sensation at the back of his spine and the sense of unease he feels.

 

"Hit a nerve, have I?" the man mocks. "Just tell me my name and get on with it. I've been waiting a long time to kill you."

 

"Get in line, asshole," Magnus says and swings the burning end of the stick right at the man’s face.

 

\-------

 

By the time Angus makes it around closer to the three men, he realizes exactly who it is that Magnus is talking to.

 

It's the man who Magnus fought, it's the man he disposed, and the man who destroyed Magnus's home and killed the love of his life.

 

Kaylen.

 

Magnus has no idea that the man standing in front of him with his sword drawn is the same one who took everyone and everything that he loved from him.

 

Angus feels a surge of protection ripple through him and he's angry, so angry at Wonderland and Kaylen and the unfairness that Magnus has been dealt. He watches carefully, his hand tight in his wand, for any signal from Magnus.

 

He doesn't have to wait long.

 

The burning stick catches Kaylen in the temple and send him staggering. Before the other man has a chance to strike, Angus fires off a volley of Magic Missiles that strike him square in the back and send him stumbling into the fire. The commotion startles both Kaylen and Magnus and they turn to stare when Angus emerges from the woods.

 

There's a beat of silence and then, "Well don't just stare at me, Magnus!" he yells. "Kick his ass!" Angus fires off two bolts of Scorching Ray at the other man but only one connects. It does succeed in making him that much more on fire and he screams. Running away down the path as soon as he can pick himself up from the fire pit.

 

Kaylen raises his sword to strike at Magnus and brings it down slicing the fiery stick on half and catching Magnus on the arm. Magnus stumbles backwards, tripping over the log he was using as a bench. Kaylen advances and Angus's heart stops just for a moment before he's running at them, wand whipping through the air and casting another volley of Magic Missiles and yelling Magnus's name. Kaylen staggers under the force of the missiles and it gives Angus enough time to grab Magnus's shield from the back of the wagon and charge into Kaylen shoulder first. The man goes flying, knocked onto his back, sword swinging through the air in an attempt to parry Angus's attack. He catches the very edge of Angus's thigh, slicing through his pants and cutting his leg.

 

Kaylen ends up prone, staring at Angus above him and breathing hard. “Who are you then?" he spits. "Another Burnsides?" He stands and readies his sword again for another attack.

 

Angus can hear Magnus struggle to his feet and grab Rail-splitter. He keeps his eyes on Kaylen and ignores the feeling of blood running down his leg. "No," he answers. "A McDonald. But Magnus is my dad and you tried to kill him." And _oops._ They've never really talked about it before, what their relationship actually is but Angus has thought of Magnus as his dad since that first fight all those years ago when Magnus took him to celebrate with ice cream.

 

"He tried to kill me first—“

 

"I know who you are," Angus interrupts, voice harsh. "I know what you've done and you're not taking anything else from him."

 

"Angus?" Magnus asks, confused. "You know this guy?"

 

"What the fuck is happening here?" Kaylen demands, looking furious. "How does he not know me?"

 

Angus steps back slowly until he closer to Magnus, still pointing his wand at Kaylen and keeping the shield between them. "Magnus, you trust me, right?"

 

"Always, Ango," is the reply and Angus can't help the triumphant roar of something deep in his chest.

 

"You need to—“

 

"Please don't say let him go," Magnus groans.

 

"Kill him," Angus finishes.

 

Magnus pauses and then, says "Oh, sweet,” with a grin on his face.

 

"What the _fuck_ is going on here?" Kaylen says again, sounding desperate. "Who are you and how do you know who I am? Why doesn't _he_ know who I am?"

 

"It's a long story," Angus says, flatly. "Like 55 episodes worth."

 

"What does that _mean_?" Kaylen screeches, dropping his sword to point it at the ground, face contorted with confusion and anger. Magnus takes his chance and lunges at him, knocking the blade from his hand and tackling him to the ground.

 

"Hell if I know," he growls, "but you threatened my boy and hurt him so I was gonna kill you either way."

 

\------

 

It's over a week later that Angus brings it up at a different camp many miles away.

 

"I know this was a while ago and we've moved past it for the most part but I wanted to say thank you," he says quietly as they sit around the fire.

 

Magnus looks up from where he's cooking their meat and says, "For what?"

 

Angus smiles and rubs the back of his neck, the Burnsides special. "For trusting me at Raven's Roost. You didn't have to and you did and I—“

 

"I'm gonna stop you there, buddy," Magnus says, holding up a hand. "I wasn't kidding when I said _always_. I trust you completely, Ango."

 

“I—um, thanks," Angus says and it's dark but Magnus can see his grin from where he's sitting. They sit on companionable silence for a few minutes, the only noise being the crackling of the fire. Angus fidgets with his wand.

 

"Spit it out dude," Magnus laughs. “You look like you're about to shit yourself over there.”

 

"I just—“ he stops and breathes and Magnus starts to worry.

 

"Angus, are you okay?" he asks, standing to crowd into the boys space and feeling his forehead with the back of his massive hand.

 

Angus lets out a little laugh that sounds almost like a sob. "This is kind of about what I was trying to say."

 

"Oh shit am I being too overbearing?" Magnus says, stealing his hand back. Angus grabs it and tugs Magnus down to sit next to him.

 

"No I just—we've never talked about it and I’ve never had someone like you in my life. Someone who cares so much and I told Kay—that guy that you were my dad and I didn't know if that was okay?" He's still got a hold on Magnus's hand and he squeezes gently.

 

Magnus processes what Angus has said and can't help but laugh. Angus shoots him a dirty look and promptly drops his hand, which Magnus snatches back even quicker. "Is that what you're worried about?" Angus shrugs and nods. "Ango I've been—I’ve been trying not to because you're just so good and it’s not really a thing for me to decide, but I've been thinking of you as my kid since you first came off the moon with me. I didn't think—I was sure that me being your dad, or you calling me your dad wasn’t really a thing you were interested in."

 

Angus looks down at their hands, clasped together. He’s 16-years-old and being able to hold someone’s hand had been foreign for him for so long that now he doesn’t want it to stop. The silent reassurance of someone’s hand in his own was never something he understood until Magnus. Angus clears his throat and avoids looking at Magnus’s face. ”I always thought that I was a, um, a poor substitute for what you could have had if—if you’d never lost your family."

 

Magnus is left searching for words again, as he often is with Angus. "Angus you're not a substitute. You're not—Jesus, you're not an ' _or_ ', buddy. I don't know how my life would have turned out if, uh, Julia was still here. I don't know if we would have had kids or if we would have even stayed together forever."

 

He clears his throats and squeezes Angus's hand. "But I do know that if I had a family and if we met you that Julia would have loved you and I would still love you," he says. "Do you—do you understand what I meant when I said you wouldn't be an ' _or_ '? You'd be an ' _and_ ', Ango. An addition that would make the sum of us that much _more_."

 

"I would be so happy to be your dad," he finishes quietly.

 

Angus slumps his weight against Magnus’s side and with a content sounding sigh. “Good,” he says with a voice that Magnus can _hear_ the smile in. “Because I’m really happy being your kid.”

**Author's Note:**

> someone commented on the chocolate and vanilla fic that maybe angus got sad about whether or not he was just a stand in for what Magnus's real fam would have been like. thus, this was born.


End file.
